


Love, Hate, and Other Cliches

by Aliorio



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/F, F/M, Kidnapping, Romance, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2015-06-19
Packaged: 2018-02-20 07:24:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2420087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aliorio/pseuds/Aliorio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started with a kiss and a handkerchief.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I stared into her eyes, trying to search for something - anything other than that plaintive, hollow expression. But there was nothing. Nothing but anxiety and guilt and pain and anger and panic. I wanted to say I sympathized with her, say that she wasn't alone, but there was no way I could say that without it being a lie. I couldn't ever possibly understand the pure anguish she was feeling. I couldn't even think of words to comfort her. How could I? There was nothing I could say that would make up for what had just happened.

"N… Neru, I…"

Finally, Neru tore her eyes away from the floor and directed them at me. Her features fluctuated between horror and agony and disbelief, each drenched in complete despair.

"Kuu… wha… I… I…"

That's when I saw the greatest shock from her yet. A tear. I never would have thought that I'd see her do something like cry, and there she was, trying her best to stop herself from bawling. It was enough to remind me that despite her bad attitude, her limitless stubbornness, and her stony disposition, she was still a normal person with normal feelings.

And then Neru surprised me again. She-

… Wait, wait, wait. Scratch that. Scratch all of that.

You guys would want me to start from the very, very beginning, right? Forget all of that for now.

It would be better to start from the very, very beginning, right? Forget all of that for now.

If my memory serves me correctly, it must all have began something like this.

* * *

"You gonna wake up any time soon, Outoto?"

"…Go away, Rin."

"It's 6AM, Outoto! You only have 20 minutes to fix your hair. It's a disaster, you know!"

"Alright, alright… But didn't I tell you several times to stop calling me 'Outoto?'"

"What?! Then what else am I supposed to call you!?"

"There's my name, for one."

"Really? You expect me to call me by your name, Outoto? I thought we were closer than that! Boohoo!"

"Isn't that just contradictory? You don't usually call…nevermind. I'm getting up now, so will you leave already?"

She never did use my name that morning, so here it is.

My name is Kagamine Len. I'm 14 years old, and... I've never really been any good at these introductory things. I'm normal, if anything else. The only attributes I have that could be called a talent are my aikido skills, but otherwise my grades are as average as average can be. On the attractiveness scale, anyone would say I'm a five out of ten. My favorite thing in the world? Sarcasm. Bananas are good, too.

That girl's name is Rin, and she's my older (by a few minutes) twin sister. We're complete opposites, despite our identical looks. She's got a stand-outish, obnoxious personality and she's lazy yet full of energy at the same time. The girl never really knows when to stop talking, either. A typical annoying sister.

After my terribly average morning routine (brushing teeth, making my hair presentable, getting in my uniform), I headed downstairs to our kitchen. I think Rin and I were both silently surprised to see two bowls of steamed rice, miso soup, and a side of grilled fish waiting for us at the low table. It came as such an eye-opener because Dad never makes us breakfast. As a matter of fact, we never really see him in the mornings before school at all, yet there he was, sitting on his knees and sipping coffee from his dad-mug in a very dad-like fashion. He didn't even look up from his newspaper when we walked in, but had apparently acknowledged that we were in the room and duly said "Good morning," which we returned as we dove into our food. It must only be for today, I had guessed. Today was special.

My parents aren't together, so we live with my Dad. He's a good guy, but I must have gotten my terribly, terribly plain personality from him.

Our Mom and he had fallen utterly, completely in love when they were in high school. This later led to disaster when they had had kids too soon (which turned out to be twins. Yeah.) and Mom decided just before marriage that she wasn't ready, saying things like she was a "free spirit," "couldn't ever possibly settle down," "the world is her oyster," "needs to spread her wings," silly stuff like that. It's all pretty ridiculous, if you ask me. She just left my Dad with only a note and their engagement ring. and he never had the heart to tell us exactly what it said.

But he always did tell Rin and I about her every night when we were little. If you didn't know what happened in the end like we didn't back then, the stories sounded really heart-warming and fairytale-esque. He spoke of her like she was one of the best things to happen to him in his life, like he had met an actual goddess, but whenever we asked him where she was, why Mom wasn't there with us, he'd always say, "If you love something, set it free."

I couldn't ever imagine a guy like me falling in love, though.

Rin kissed Dad's cheek, and he gave me a firm handshake. His expression looked contemplative for a moment, as if searching for the appropriate words to say. He can be a really awkward guy sometimes, so I wasn't surprised when he just went with a dad-like cough and said "Good luck." We would need it, too. It's our first day in our new school.

We move around every two or three years, and there's usually never a good reason. No job promotions, no escape mechanism, no rhyme or reason to it other than tradition. Rin's always heartbroken over having to leave behind the friends she makes, but I get over it pretty easily. I guess I just don't get attached to others that well, especially knowing that I'll only know the people I meet for a few years. I'm not a hermit or anything, but I've never had any "best" friends as a result. Normal friends that I could talk to and partner up with in class I had a bunch of, but no one worth inviting over for dinner or sleepovers. If you were to ask anyone I've met over the years, the word they'd use to describe me would be "distant," I'm sure. Assuming they even remembered me, which I doubt.

Rin, on the other hand, got along with a lot of people, and some she even got really close to. A few years ago, I saw her on her hands and knees in front of dad, begging him to change his mind about moving so that she wouldn't have to leave her friend, Teto Kasane. It was hard not to sympathize with her, even though I didn't know Kasane very well, because she had easily become a member of the family. It was rarer to _not_ see Kasane in the house than the other way around.

They still talk to each other, but only every few weeks. I don't think their friendship will ever be the same.

* * *

Rin and I walked to the bus stop after leaving our house, she a few feet in front of me and skipping merrily. She's always like this on our first days, always excited to meet new people and make new friends. It's probably better not to think about it the way I do and distance yourself from others because you won't know them very long, and I admire her a little for it. She's optimistic, despite being a nuisance sometimes. I'll give her that.

We don't get on any of those fabled American yellow buses like you see in the movies. Here in Japan, we have to use our own method of transportation to get to school. The bus we're taking is the same kind that car-less adults ride to get where they need to go. They typically smell bad and have a bunch of advertisements about idols and energy drinks. Rin and I both showed the driver our bus passes and climbed on board, not daring to try actually sitting down on any of the seats. If you have any experience with these types of buses, you know that people do all sorts of disgusting stuff on them. Our stop must have been early in the route, because there weren't many people aboard it yet. She and I settled for an iron pole in the center of the vehicle to support ourselves from falling over, but not before simultaneously reaching into our pockets and taking out our can never be too safe with these public transportation places. We waited. It was an uneventful drive.

Well, it was, up until a pair of girls in our school's uniform arrived on the bus shortly afterwards. The first I saw was tall and busty, and her hair was… white. The way she carried herself was absolutely submissive and shy. I could see her head dart all around the bus in every direction, visibly paranoid and anxious like a kid who had lost his mother in a supermarket. The other one, apparently accompanying the white-haired girl, was nearly an entire foot shorter. Her hair was a mustard colored blonde in a sloppily tied side-ponytail. Her thick eyebrows matched the color of her hair, with hazel eyes to match. The expression on her face was hard and annoyed, as if there was a "do not disturb" sign taped onto it. She seemed the type who'd actually bite you if you were to bother her. In short, they both came off as polar opposites.

Before going anywhere, the taller girl whispered something worriedly in the blonde one's ear. The busdriver and a few passengers seemed irritated. She raised an eyebrow and didn't reply as quietly, because Rin and I both were able to hear it. The two of us as well as some other people on the bus were watching it all go down. It wasn't as if we had anything else to look at.

"It's not a problem, Haku. Don't you see the other poles available? Calm down already, moron."

"I…is it? Okay… I'm sorry…" She hung her head slightly, shyly embarrassed as far as I could tell. The blonde just shook her head and patted her friend's back with a very, very slight grin.

And then the bus shot forward out of nowhere and knocked both of them off of their feet.

Or maybe it was just Haku, because the blonde caught herself swiftly and lifted herself up. The other wasn't so agile, having collided with the filthy ground face first.

"Hey! What the hell was that?! Didn't you see that we were still walking?" The blonde glared hard in the direction of the bus driver's seat and her hands shot up, accusatory, but he barely returned the acknowledgment.

"I got a schedule t'follow, kid. Keep movin' or you and your friend are outta here."

"Excuse me? Just who do you think you are?! How about you try getting off of your lazy fat ass and come-!"

"It's…it's okay, Neru-san… W-we… we were taking too long…" Haku's voice didn't sound any louder than a peep, what with the yelling, but somehow Neru was able to hear her friend gather herself off of the dirty floor. It seemed like there was a bruise forming on her cheek, but the dirt didn't show on her navy blue uniform. Haku's voice had apparently soothed the obvious anger present in Neru's tone, causing the blonde's volume to reach something much quieter. She turned towards the other girl and clenched her fists.

"Haku…."

"I'm sorry…"

Haku stared at the floor shamefully while Neru held eye contact for a few strained seconds, then peacefully went to the very back of the bus.

* * *

It was pretty quiet after that.

Rin and I stayed silent for the remainder of the ride. The girls behind us didn't talk, either. I might have been imagining it, but everyone seemed to have been staring at the blonde one… expectant.

When it was finally time for our stop, Rin hopped to the front, apparently eager to leave. I was right behind her, up until I made the mistake of looking back and saw the other girls still idly standing at the pole. I didn't think they realized that it was time to get off, and I was presented with two options:

_A. Leave them and let them miss their stop, it's not your problem._

_B. One of them has a bruise on her face and should see a nurse. Come on, Len._

I debated the two options in my head for a few seconds, weighing the pros and cons. You can say I was overthinking, but I really, really hate confronting others, especially people I've never met before. Forcing my hands in my pockets and exhaling tiredly, I shoved my heart back down my throat and turned around to face the girls behind me.

"…Hey, you both are Sorairo students, aren't you?" The shorter girl was engrossed in her phone and didn't even look at me, but Haku nervously glanced around left and right before answering.

"Um…are you talking to us…?"

"I don't…see anyone else I could be talking to. Do you?"

"I-I…am I supposed to…?" I was worried that I was scaring her or something, despite being five or more inches shorter. She seemed like she was really on the verge of tears. Instantly, I knew that this had been a bad idea.

"C…Hey, calm down. I was kidding."

"Oh… I'm sorry…"

"You don't have to-alright, we're holding up the bus. Are you from Sorairo or not?"

"Um…yes… How did you know…?" I glanced at her uniform with our school's insignia stitched above her chest pointedly, but she didn't notice.

"...Lucky guess. But this is your stop, isn't it?" I gestured to the windows which revealed Sorairo Junior High. If there was anything to compensate for the hour it took to get there, it was the exterior of the school. In front of the school was a 20, maybe 25 foot bridge extending over a lake of dazzling blue. It looked clean enough for fish to swim in. Alongside the length of the bridge were rows of even bluer potted flowers encased and supported by clear glass. It had an arched shape, like a cat stretching after its nap. The school itself was mostly white, with stories and stories of glass windows that could've fooled someone into thinking it was tall enough to really touch the sky. Separate buildings extended from what I assumed to be the main building through tiled paths. Of course, there was enough green to account for several football stadiums. And you can't have a high school in the spring without Sakura trees blossoming, can you, because there were probably hundreds of them, dotted randomly and sporadically within the school's college-like campus.

_'Get to the point already,'_ is what you're thinking, right? Sorry.

Haku followed the direction my hand pointed in with her (…maroon?) eyes, which quickly widened from their partially closed state as she gasped inwardly. While she immediately went to alert her friend, I repositioned my hands in my sweater jacket and went on ahead. Rin was, surprisingly, waiting for me a few seats in front of where I was and grinning annoyingly, as if she had something to tease me about. But she didn't.

"Hey, what's your name?"

I was a footstep in front of Rin when she stopped right beside the driver and turned to face him. She had a very fake, almost threatening wide smile that looked like it creeped out both the busdriver and I.

"…What're you askin' me that for, kid?"

"Oh, no reason! I mean, I guess your name doesn't really matter much, does it? After all, you're just a busdriver! That may as well be your name, right? Busdriver-san!"

"The hell-"

"Yep! Because no one cares about your name really, am I wrong? How long have you been doing this, anyway? Most people are proud of how long they've been doing their work, but what about you? Ten years? Fifteen? Maybe even twenty?! Isn't that kind of sad? I mean, this is a pretty crappy job, isn't it?"

"Rin, I think you ought to-"

"You also seem kinda old. Forty? Fifty? Sixty, even?! How are you ever going to save up enough money for retirement with a dead end job like this?

"You…you better shut your mouth right now, kid, or I swear I'll-!"

"You're not going to try and hit me, are you? Isn't this job the only thing of value in your life? Do you really want to lose it and go to jail? I'd have thought that this was a lot more important to you, crappy as it is."

"Khh-!"

"I suggest anger management lessons, Busdriver-san. Your temper is pretty flammable, especially seeing as how you made a girl trip and hurt herself because she was taking her time, you know? I don't even wanna know what kind of stressful and tight life you've had that made you such a terrible guy. Maybe you should just quit your job instead. It hasn't made you any better as a person, has it? Was the pay worth becoming who you are now?"

"…Rin, we really need to-"

"You're right, Outoto! I think we've been holding up the rest of the bus, haven't we? Sorry, everyone! We'll just get on our way now. See you this afternoon, Busdriver-san!"

"…"

"…"

Rin ushered me to follow her as she energetically waved goodbye to the busdriver.

You probably don't want to hear about our classes. Those were just the usual new kid introductory things. We didn't actually have to do any classwork. Rin got chatty with our classmates instantly like she usually does, and a few people wouldn't leave me alone for a while either. I hate the first few weeks as the transfer students; we get treated like zoo animals, like trophies on display that people can ogle as much as they please. Not to mention I hate the "New Kids" trope.

Lunch came, and a bunch of our classmates invited us to eat with them. While Rin struggled to decide whose company she wanted, I politely declined all offers and got out of my seat to go… somewhere else. I didn't have any place in mind where I wanted to go. (Not that I could, being completely unfamiliar with the building.) I just knew that I didn't want to deal with a flood of personal questions while struggling to memorize names and faces. Rin was too distracted to try to stop me.

I turned a left, a right, climbed a staircase and took another left. I ended up exploring the school more than actually eating my own lunch. Outside the windows I could see some sport teams, and I peeked in the windows of some classes and saw a few clubrooms. I've never done any school activities other than aikido, and I wasn't looking to join a new one. I moved on.

I was about to turn another corner until I heard two feminine voices. One of them I felt that I had heard before, but the other was higher pitched and more cheerful.

"…about it, Neru-chan?"

"I'm not the mood to waste my time today and I'm definitely not going to waste it with you."

"Oh, but you're never in the mood! We never spend any time together, Neru-chan…"

"That's because you hate me, and I hate you. Stop acting innocent and get out of my way." Neru retorted loathe fully and shoved past the other girl (will I get charged if I say "bluenette"?), whom feinted hurt and quickly followed after her.

"You're bringing tears to my eyes!" Her pursuer flailed obnoxiously and dropped to her knees, reaching for Neru's ankle as she walked away, three feet, six feet, while dramatically placing the back of her hand on her forehead. "Someone get me a handkerchief, anyone…?"

I probably should have stopped watching right then and there, it was none of my business, but for some reason, I wanted to see what this girl's relationship was with Neru. (And felt a bit of pity.) They clearly weren't friends, so why was she so stuck on getting her attention? I dug my hand into my pocket and withdrew the thin piece of cloth that I used on the bus earlier and was faced with another choice. Do I entertain this girl in order to find out why she's so clingy to Neru, or do I regain my senses and mind my own business like I normally do?

Later that day, I would learn the true meaning of the phrase "curiosity killed the cat".

I closed the distance between the two girls and I and bent on one knee, awkwardly offering her what she had requested. What was it with me and getting involved in other people's problems that day? It must have been the enormous new school, making me dizzy and messing up my head or something.

She didn't even notice at first and neither did Neru, so I coughed loudly and got their attention.

"So…take it." I was doing something bold and stupid and completely unlike me and I didn't know why, but I did. "Are you…you know, okay?."

_What the_ hell _am I doing?_ I thought.

They both looked at me for the first time, and I started to sweat. _Why am I so stupid?_

The girl on the ground stared, eyebrows raised, like she was surprised that someone was dumb enough to actually give her one.

"Oh, oh, oh! Oh! Oooh! Don't you see, Neru-chan? Don't you see what your cruelty is doing to yourself?" The overdramatic girl said, completely befuddling me as she snatched the piece out of my hand. Neru glared stiffly at me, like she was angry because of what I did.

"Don't humor her. She just wants your attention." She muttered sternly, then looked away and took out her phone, but I could tell she was trying to seem indifferent, to act like she didn't care about what I thought about this situation. If she wasn't, she would have left already.

The other apparently couldn't tell and her expression instantly shifted to something much more enraged and offended. I took it she didn't like being ignored.

"Ha ha ha," She chuckled stiffly. "Ha ha HA! That's…so funny, Neru-chan! You must be the opposite then, right? Trying to be all cool and mysterious, pretending that I don't exist!"

From there, it happened so quickly that I didn't get a chance to react. The blue-haired girl shot up from the ground and stuffed my handkerchief in Neru's mouth. She dropped her phone in surprise, but almost immediately grabbed the other girl by the wrist and hurled her backwards. Miraculously, she landed on her feet, but Neru didn't wait for her to steady herself. She ran straight at the blue-haired girl and threw a kick. The other just barely ducked and threw a few hairpins at Neru's face. It seemed pointless and ineffective at first, but then I realized what she was actually trying to do; the girl with the pigtails wanted Neru's phone, and the pins had just been a distraction. I only watched as she snatched it up with her blue finger-painted nails and curled herself into a ball a split second later, rolling away from Neru's incoming kick. Neru came hurling right after her until the other held up her fingernail next to the phone's touchscreen.

"You wouldn't want to get any ugly scratch marks on your Android, would you, Neru-chan?"

"Give it back, Miku," Neru growled in a low voice. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but if you mess with my phone, I swear to God I'll-"

"Oh sure, sure! I promise I won't break it! But you have to promise me something in return, okay? Meet me at the tree outside the health room. You know, the really really tall one? 6:30 o'clock after school!"

Miku, I assumed her name to be, since Neru had just called her that, avoided another punch and hid behind my back. She put her hands on my shoulders and pulled me closer to her. I flinched. I'd been frozen in place for so long that I didn't even notice her there until she kissed my cheek and said, "Bring this cutie along with you, by the way, or no deal!" and abruptly skipped away.

Huh? Yeah, I said that she kissed my cheek. No idea where that came from.

My face felt warm and my eyes widened a little. I'd never been kissed at all by a girl before, so don't judge me when I say that I blushed and felt my cheek with my fingers. Had she really just called me cute? _Me?_

But then I remembered the circumstances and felt less flustered. That girl, Miku, she probably didn't mean it and just wanted to irritate Neru, considering the equally red color on her own face that I saw when I looked. I guessed stuff like that embarrasses her. I shouldn't be over thinking about that sort of thing anyway, I don't even know that girl, and from what I've seen, she's definitely not my type. (Not that I even know what my type is, just... not _that._ )

We waited in the hallway as the sound of Miku's footsteps eventually faded further and further away, until it was just the two of us standing in uncomfortable silence. I didn't know what to make of everything that had just happened. I'd just left my classroom to explore the building, witnessed a random fight between two girls, and gotten my first kiss from a girl I didn't know. I've had a lot of "first day at a new school"'s in my life, but this was by far the weirdest and most eventful.

Neru finally did something to break the silence - she groaned loudly enough for every classroom in the hallway to hear and kicked a wall so hard it left a crack. The walls had looked sturdy, so I was surprised that she didn't break at least a few toes on impact. She looked as if she wanted to punch another thing, to take out her anger on something else, and I wasn't so sure that it was going to be just a wall this time, so I started to turn around and leave. She was sharp, though, and caught me moving no more than probably an inch.

"Hey! You're not going anywhere, kid." Neru said as she flicked her light brown eyes towards me. I stopped moving and looked at her hesitantly, a little worried to be dealing with a person that seemed ready to pulverize me.

"Uh… why is that?"

"Because I need you come with me and get my phone back!"

"I still don't see why I need to come with you to do this."

"Do I have to explain everything? It's because Miku said that you need to come, too."

"I didn't think she was serious about that, though."

"It doesn't matter whether or not she was being serious! I'm not taking any risks. Just come with me!"

"Gee, I'd love to, but… Getting involved with girls who break out into fights at school reeeally isn't how I like to spend my afternoons."

"Fine." Neru huffed and folded her arms against her chest. "What do you want?"

"To be left alone?" I offered, pointing in the direction of the exit.

"No, you idiot! I mean, what do I have to do to get you to come with me?"

"I don't want anything from you, really. I just want to pretend I didn't see anything and go on with my day."

"Okay, this is bothering me, so I want to ask you something. I'm pretty sure I've seen your face before, but I don't remember. Do I know you?"

"We just ride the same bus to get here, that's all."

"Oh, you and that girl. You're the ones that took the pole Haku and I always use!"

"Took your pole? I don't know wh-"

* * *

 

_"'It's not a problem, Haku. Don't you see the other poles available? Calm down already, moron.'_

_'I…is it? Okay… I'm sorry…'_

_And then the bus shot forward out of nowhere and knocked both of them off of their feet."_

* * *

"... Oh. Sorry about that." It might have been indirect, but Rin and I taking Neru and her friends' spot on the bus was the reason why they held up the bus and Haku hurt herself. It wasn't _really_ our fault, but I still felt a little guilty about it.

" _'Sorry'_ nothing! You have five seconds to say you'll come with me before I kick your ass, kid. One, two, thr-"

"Alright, alright! I'll go. Just stop calling me kid, I'm pretty sure we're in the same grade."

"Then what else am I supposed to call you?"

"You could have asked for my name. It's Kagamine Len."

I had a feeling of deja vu.

* * *

_"'It's 6AM, Outoto! You only have 20 minutes to fix your hair. It's a disaster, you know!'_

_'Alright, alright… But didn't I tell you several times to stop calling me Outoto?'_

_'What?! Then what else am I supposed to call you!?'_

_'There's my name, for one.'"_

* * *

 "... Akita Neru. 6:30 tonight at the health room. If you stand me up, I'll really make you regret it tomorrow!" As Neru stared at me, examining me with her eyes like I was some interesting new species to a scientist, somehow I felt that this girl would be a problem for me in the future. I felt that our conflicts wouldn't just end after I helped her get her phone back, that I'd be seeing her more than just on the bus to and from school. Her sloppily tied ponytail, her unbuttoned uniform jacket, her permanently furrowed brows and steely eyes, all of it screamed bad news to me; this isn't the type of girl I should be getting involved with, I told myself. I should just take a beating tomorrow instead of concerning myself with her, instead of complicating my school life like this. I should stay away from those girls and keep living the peaceful school life that I've always devoted myself to, leaving people to their own affairs until I graduated quietly and normally.

But for some reason, I don't know why, I'd done a lot of getting involved with other peoples' problems on that day. I told Haku that she and Neru were about to miss their stop, I intervened between Miku and Neru, I got involved in something that wasn't any of my business. I thought, maybe this should be the year that I don't hide so much. Maybe I should try being a new Kagamine Len and open up to other people.

I had no idea what a terrible choice that was.

* * *


	2. The Wind Knocked Out Of You

“Where are you going, Outoto?”  
Rin called after me as I headed down the stairs in our house. It was 4:45 PM, about two hours after our school day had ended. I had long since been out of my uniform and instead wore a simple white shirt and my favorite pair of shorts, with a thin jacket tied around my waist just in case it got cold later on. Since dad was at work, I thought that I wouldn’t have any problems getting out of the house, but Rin persisted to be a problem. She’s normally asleep the minute we get home from school, so I had hoped that I would be free for the next few hours until she woke up.   
“I have to go meet a girl from schoo-” I frowned, froze, and stopped myself. “I mean, not a girl! Just-”  
I was too late. Rin had already started screaming.   
The loudest, squeakiest, most obnoxious noise I had ever heard in my life filled my ears instantly. Rin’s voice rattled and tore through the air, loud enough for everyone in a 50 meter radius to hear. Probably. Before I could try to run, Rin tackled me down the stairs. I shouted in surprise and collided with the hardwood floor. My head thudded against the ground and I groaned in pain, cradling the back of my head as it throbbed and a bruise started to form.   
“Rin, what the hell is wrong with you?!” I hissed through clenched teeth, both of my eyes shut tightly.  
“After all of these years thinking you were gay, my little brother finally has a girlfriend! EEEEE-”  
“No! I don’t have a girlfriend! Ow, ow, ow! Get off of me, you’re heavy!”  
“Then who’s this girl you’re meeting, huh? Don’t lie to me, Outoto! I can tell when you lie!”   
“I’m. Not. Lying!” I pried Rin’s arms off of my neck with all of my strength and shoved her away from me. I’m not weak, it’s just that Rin is unnaturally strong. It doesn’t even make sense how she’s got enough muscle to lift up a 120 lb. weight when she’s too lazy to work out at all. I think that it’s got something to do with that bow on her head; I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it move on its own before.   
“Look, you know the blonde girl that we saw on the bus today? That’s who I’m going to see. She only asked me to go help her with something after school.”  
“You mean the the sort’ve short one with a temper?” I nodded. “Hmm… it seems like you’re telling the truth, but what’s her name?”  
“Akita Neru. She’s in our grade, too.”  
“What class?”  
“I don’t know, she didn’t tell me.”  
“And you two are going to meet… at her house?! How indecent! I’m telling dad!”  
“No, we’re not! I’m just taking the bus to school, and I’m going to miss the next one if you keep asking me these questions.”  
“Alright, alright, last one! So you say that this girl asked you to help her with something…”  
“Yeah, and…?”  
“And you agreed to it? That sounds awfully outgoing of you, Outoto.”  
“Well, I was sort’ve threatened, so-”  
“Details, details! I can see it in your eyes little brother, you want to help Neru-chan! I mean, she was kinda cute, wasn’t she? I bet you’re just going along with this because you wanna… you know.” Rin paused and made a series of incomprehensible hand gestures. One second she was doing the itsy-bitsy-spider and the next some sort of phrase in sign language. I sighed.  
“Rin, I really don’t have time for this.”  
“Oh fine, go. Just remember - if things don’t work out with Neru-chan, I’ll be glad to take her off your hands!  
“Wh-”  
“Bye-bye!”  
...

It was 6:46 by the time I got where I needed to be. I was directed to go outside health room where a supposed tree awaited, but no one had actually told me exactly how to get there. I was stuck running around the unnecessarily large campus for an extra 16 minutes until I found it. Neru and “Miku” were already there when had I arrived, standing away from each other at a considerable distance. Even if it was only the two of them around, I wasn’t so confident about showing up abruptly like this and saying, “Hey! What’d I miss?”   
Thankfully (unfortunately), Miku saw me the minute I was noticeable and beckoned for me to come over. A feeling of nervousness and apprehensiveness formed in my gut - the air around them radiated tension and suspense, like both of them were waiting for the other to pull something. Something that would be really inconvenient for me to get between.   
“Len-kun! You came for me!” Miku squealed girlishly and ran straight towards me with her arms spread. I had already been attacked by one girl today and I wasn’t about to get trampled a second time. I held my hands up defensively and stepped to the right to avoid her right as she tried to give me a hug.   
“Um, I’m actually here for…” I scratched the back of my head and pointed towards Neru with my thumb. Being too close to Miku made feel kind of unsafe, like she was a ticking time bomb, so I went closer to Neru. (And I thought that I might’ve seen Miku’s eye twitch.) It bothered me how Miku knew who I was when she wasn’t around to hear me say it.   
“Did she ask you for my name?” I whispered to Neru behind my palm, and as I suspected, whispering wasn’t something that she was capable of. She instead answered in her usual volume, which is always louder than a regular speaking voice.  
“What? No. And even if she did, I don’t remember it.”   
“Okay, that’s great, but how did she-”   
“Just who,” I was interrupted mid-sentence by the girl in question. She was only now recovering from her failed hug attempt, her mouth contorting into a distasteful and downright creepy smile. “Do you think you are, Len-kun?”   
“Uhh…”  
“I’ll have a nice, long chat with you about this later, sweetie. But Neru-chan and I were in the middle of something just a moment ago, weren’t we?”   
“That’s right,” Neru responded in a low voice, blowing her messy bangs out of her face. “You were about to hand over my phone before I knock you out!”  
“Hmm... are you sure? Because I distinctly remember something completely different.” Miku started to walk around the two of us in a circle, keeping the same distance apart from Neru and I. She tilted her head to the side and poked her own cheek poutingly. “I’m disappointed. Have you already forgotten something so important...?”   
“No, I didn’t forget. Don’t treat me like an idiot.” Her words were brimmed with hostility and resentment. “And I’m not doing it. Fuck off.”  
As for me, I was utterly, completely lost. I had expected this to be a quick exchange that only required me to be an audience and nothing more, but this, whatever “this” was, felt as though it had a lot of context to it that I wasn’t aware of, like I’d been thrown into a story that had begun long before I was involved. These two girls, Neru and Miku, they clearly hadn’t just met today, and this meeting had more meaning to it than just retrieving Neru’s phone.   
And I had really, really, really screwed up in agreeing to come here.  
“Tut, tut, tut, Neru-chan. You’re really going to regret that decision in minute. I did give you several opportunities to do as I said, and yet…” She sighed. “Oh, well. It can’t be helped with you, can it? Boys? Bring our guest of honor out!” Miku clapped and whistled as some sort of signal for her… boys? I didn’t like the implications something like that had. Neru, on the other hand, seemed more concerned about this “guest of honor” she was referring to.  
This is the part where you’re probably going to start doubting the truthfulness of my testimony, so let me just reiterate that everything I’m telling you is 100% fact. Kagamine Len does not lie, I swear.  
So then… a bunch of grown men in glaring pink bikinis of questionable sizes emerged from the health room.   
“Tadaaa! What do you think? It’s my new swimsuit clothing line for men! I’m thinking of selling the idea to a fashion department! In times like these, sometimes you just have to take the initiative in the business world, you know?”  
“You… didn’t…” I looked at Neru. Her eyes were wide and her body was frozen in place. A guy from the back shuffled forward through the group of men, gripping a tall girl with long white hair and reddish eyes by her arms. Immediately, I recognized who she was.  
“Haku!” Neru suddenly sprinted forward as she shouted the girl’s name. Haku looked up and smiled hopefully at first, but then her expression turned more fearful.  
“Neru-san, look! B… behind you!”   
“What?” Just as Neru was turning her head, Miku’s fist slammed into her right cheek and knocked her off her feet. Her body flew to the side as she skidded across the grass before coming to a stop. She had gone so fast and swiftly that I hadn’t even seen her move.   
“Hey!” I shouted after them. I knew better than to blindly run into this like Neru, but I also couldn’t just watch and let this go on. Haku was struggling and crying and yelling her friend’s name while Neru could barely keep up with Miku; she was like some sort of fighting ballerina.   
“Ah, how could I forget about you, Len-kun? Would one of you guys take care of him for me? I think I want to keep him around for a little longer.” She chimed as she easily avoided Neru’s punch. A few of the men nodded and three advanced towards me in their hot pink bikinis. I took a step back, holding up my hands flat in a standard aikido position. In my four years of aikido training I’ve never actually needed to use it to defend myself, and I wasn’t all that eager to try it out, either.  
The first one rushed towards me with his fist extended and headed for my face. I waited until he was close enough to grab hold of his wrist, then pulled him forward and jabbed him in the stomach. As he coughed and doubled over, another caught my forearm from behind. I elbowed him as hard as I could in what felt like his lower rib cage. He roared in pain, clutching his ribs with one of his arms and falling to his knees. A third appeared next to me, unmoving and attentive. I narrowed my eyes; he wanted me to make the first move, but I knew better. He was the one that got tired of waiting and finally went for my face in a mad barrage of punches, one ceaselessly after the other. I blocked most of them by shielding my face with my arms, wincing as they left marks on my skin. I‘ve only ever practiced against kids around my own age and height, which made fighting these taller, older, and stronger men more difficult. (And the bikinis we’re enough of a distraction to mess up my footing, too.) I could hear Neru still going at it with Miku, but didn’t exactly have time to spare looking at her.   
In the midst of all of this, one of the men in a swimsuit peeked his head out from behind a corner and called out. “Hatsune-sama, do you know this girl?” I was too preoccupied to even glance at the guy or the girl he supposedly had with him.  
“Ugh, what girl? Can’t you see that I’m a little - whoopsie!” She exclaimed and nearly fell over trying to dodge a punch from Neru. “Can’t you see that I’m a little busy here?”  
“Oh…” The oaf looked down, dejected. “Alright, get out a’ here, missy.” He shoved the girl forward, a brief shriek emitting from her as she landed on the grass roughly.  
It took me only a second to recognize her voice.   
“Rin?!” I slammed my shoe down on my opponent’s bare foot and pushed him onto the ground with newfound adrenaline. She lifted her face from the grass and looked up at me, tear lines dirtied with earth glistening in the afternoon light on her cheeks. “Len…” She sniffed.  
“Idiot! Why did you follow me h-” I was cut off by a fist plowing into my the side of my face, so distracted by my own sister’s appearance in this mess that I’d forgotten all about the guys who were still after me. Rin screamed and cried out my name as I powerlessly thumped to the ground. The three men that had attacked me were all up and moving again, two of them lifting me up by my arms and pulling them behind me. The third took advantage of my position and punched me in the stomach once, twice, before looking to Miku for further instruction. I coughed and inhaled sharply on impact, gasping for air desperately. It felt like a vacuum had sucked all of the oxygen out of my lungs instantly and left me completely helpless to breathe. I had finally realized what it really meant to have the wind knocked out of you.  
“All finished, boys?” Miku rose from the ground, swiping her hands across each other as if wiping off something dirty. Neru laid unmoving, sprawled out across the grass like a discarded marionette. My vision was blurry, but I could still see her chest rising and falling; hopefully, she was just unconscious. Haku was sobbing from behind, muttering Neru’s name quietly and desperately.   
“Alrighty, then! Let’s get going. Bring Haku-chan, and… what did you say her name was, Len-kun? Rin-chan! Bring her along with us, too.”  
“No!” I forced myself shout at her, my voice strained from the pain in my stomach. “Just what is this all about? What do you want my sister for?”  
She laughed. “Isn’t that a funny question? I don’t really feel like explaining all of it right now, though. Maybe Neru-chan can help you out! That is, when she decides to wake up.” Miku frowned and took a moment to nudge Neru’s body cautiously with her shoe. She didn’t move. “Maybe I overdid it a little…”  
A long black car drove up near Miku with dark windows seconds later. The two men holding my arms back nodded at each other and didn’t spare any gentleness when they decided to toss me a few feet backwards onto the concrete. The bruise on the back of my head from Rin’s attack earlier hadn’t gone down, and it especially didn’t when it slammed hard against the ground with the rest of me. I didn’t pass out, which was a miracle with the intense aches and pains all over my body. My arms were cut and scraped, my vision was spotty and blurred, and I could barely make out anything I looked at, but I heard Haku crying and Rin shouting after me. There was the sound of car doors closing, an engine revving, wheels moving over gravel and muffled protests and pleads in the air.   
And I couldn’t do anything about it.   
The last thing I heard was Miku’s voice shouting as it grew farther and farther away. “See you soon, Len-kun! Neru-chan will explain everything when she wakes up!” It momentarily disappeared until abruptly returning, barely audible. “Almost forgot! Don’t try to tell anyone about this! If you do, you’ll never see Rin-chan again! Byeeeeee!”


End file.
